The Cost of Living Crisis has the whole of England feeling like we're living in a madhouse so we’re looking back to the master of wacky solutions W. Heath Robinson himself!

2022 marks 150 years since the birth of W. Heath Robinson and The Cartoon Museum has decided to celebrate that with an exhibition of his remarkable and laughable art. Sadly, less remarkable and decidedly less laughable, this exhibition has come at a time when Britain finds itself in a Cost of Living Crisis and Robinson’s art seems all the more poignant for it.  Our own energy bills this next year will be rising from £4,500 to up to £13,000 and we know that these rises are untenable for the average family.

For 110 years, the term “Heath Robinson (contraption)” has been consistently in the English dictionary, which only speaks to the longevity of this great cartoonist's humour. But the contraptions he created during the rationing period of the Wars and on were absurd asides made to alleviate the struggling public with their silliness. This levity was a welcome satire at one of the bleakest points of our history and we hope that this exhibition can make people suffering through this period find laughter even at a time of struggle.

The escapism and joy we find in humour is important but we know that there is also a lot of work that needs to be done in the world to help this Winter. We have introduced a £2 ticket for Universal Credit recipients which will hopefully along with our free Under 18s tickets mean that more families can feel able to visit the Museum, and are collecting for food banks at the museum.